Chapter VI: Part I: Home and Its Employments (4)

287. _To dye Cotton a fine Buff Color._--Let the twist or yarn be boiled in pure water, to cleanse it; then wring it, run it through a dilute solution of iron in the vegetable acid, which printers call _iron liquor_; wring, and run it through lime-water, to raise it; wring it again, and run it through a solution of starch and water; then wring it once more, and dry, wind, warp, and weave it for use.

288. _To dye Worsted or Woollen Black._--Put in half a gallon of water a piece of bi-chromate of potash, the size of a horse-bean. Boil the articles in this seven or eight minutes. Take them out and wash them. Then in another half-gallon of water put in one table-spoonful and a half of ground logwood; boil the articles in this the same length of time as before. Then wash them in cold water.

289. _To dye Hair and Feathers Green._--Take of verdigris or verditer 1 oz., gum water, 1 pint; mix them well, and dip the hair or feathers into the mixture, shaking them well about.

290. _Waterproof Clothing._--First make the cloak, coat, or trowsers of _linen_; then soak them well for a day or two in _boiled_ oil; then hang them up in a dry place till perfectly dry, without wringing the oil out; then paint them, without turpentine or dryers being in the paint, black, or any other color you like, and lay the paint on thinly, and let it dry. (This is the method practised by seamen.)

_Waterproof Clothing._--Make the garment of strong unbleached calico; hang it up in a dry place, and, with a brush, give it two coats of boiled linseed oil. Buy the oil ready-boiled; a pint will be sufficient for a cape or pair of overalls. Canvas may be prepared in the same way for rick-cloths, or other roofing purposes.

_Another way._--Get some weak size, such as is used by paper-makers; make it hot, and stir a small lump of alum, and a small quantity of soap lather into it. Then with a brush apply it to the garment equally all over, as recommended above with the oil. If the garment be of good cloth, the size may be laid on inside.

291. _Chinese Method of rendering Cloth Waterproof._--To one ounce of white wax, melted, add one quart of spirits of turpentine, which, when thoroughly mixed and cold, dip the cloth in and hang it up to dry. By this cheap and easy method, muslin, as well as the strongest cloths, will be rendered impenetrable to the hardest rains, without the pores being filled up, or any injury done, when the cloth is colored.

292. _To preserve Furs and Woollens from Moths._--Let the former be occasionally combed while in use, and the latter be brushed and shaken. When not wanted, dry them first, let them be cool; then mix among them bitter apples from the apothecary's in small muslin bags, sew the articles in several folds of linen, carefully turned in at the edges, and keep them from damp.

_Or_, lay amongst them the cuttings of Russia leather.

293. _Or_--Leaves from the tobacco plant are very effectual in keeping off moths. Lay them between the folds of the blankets, carpets, &c. Air furs, occasionally.

294. _To prevent Moths._--In the month of April beat your fur garments well with a small cane or elastic stick, then lap them up in linen without pressing the fur too hard, and put between the folds some camphor in small lumps; then put your furs in this state in boxes well closed.

When the furs are wanted for use, beat them well as before, and expose them for twenty-four hours to the air, which will take away the smell of the camphor.

295. _Easy Method of preventing Moths in Furs or Woollens._--Sprinkle the furs or woollen stuffs, as well as the drawers or boxes in which they are kept, with spirits of turpentine; the unpleasant scent of which will speedily evaporate, on exposure of the stuffs to the air. Some persons place sheets of paper, moistened with spirits of turpentine, over, under, or between pieces of cloth, &c., and find it a very effectual method.

296. _To preserve Furs, Woollens, &c._--many woollen-drapers put bits of camphor, the size of a nutmeg, in papers, on different parts of the shelves in their shops; and as they brush their cloths every two, three, or four months, this keeps them free from moths; and this should be done in boxes where furs, &c., are put. A tallow candle is frequently put within each muff when laid by.

297. _To keep Moths, Beetles, etc., from Clothes._--Put a piece of camphor in a linen bag, or some aromatic herbs, in the drawers, among linen or woollen clothes, and neither moth nor worm will come near them.

298. _A celebrated Blacking Cake for Boots and Shoes._--Take one part of gum tragacanth, four parts of river water, two parts of neat's-foot, or some other softening, lubricating oil, two parts of superfine ivory-black, one part of Prussian blue in fine powder, or indigo, four parts of brown sugar-candy; boil the mixture; and when the composition is of a proper consistence, let it be formed into cakes of such a size that each cake may make a pint of liquid blacking.

299. _Good Blacking for Boots and Shoes._--Take of ivory black, one pound; lamp-black, half an ounce; treacle, one pound; sweet oil, one ounce and a half; coarse gum Arabic, half an ounce; green copperas, three-quarters of an ounce; and stale vinegar, three pints and a half. Mix all well together, having first dissolved the gum in a little water; then add gradually, briskly stirring the mixture, half an ounce of oil of vitriol; let it stand two days, occasionally stirring it, and it will be fit for use.

Or, two ounces of ivory-black, one tea-spoonful of oil of vitriol, a table-spoonful of sweet-oil, and two ounces of sugar-candy, to be mixed with half a pint of vinegar.

300. _Liquid Blacking._--Ivory-black, quarter of a pound; treacle, half a pound, well mixed; to which add sweet oil, one pennyworth, and small beer three pints; add after, oil of vitriol, one pennyworth, which will cause it to boil. Fit for use in three days.

301. _French Polish for Boots and Shoes._--Logwood chips, half a pound; glue, quarter of a pound; indigo, pounded very fine, quarter of an ounce; soft soap, quarter of an ounce; isinglass, quarter of an ounce; boil these ingredients in two pints of vinegar and one of water, during ten minutes after ebullition, then strain the liquid. When cold it is fit for use. To apply the French polish, the dirt must be washed from the boots and shoes; when these are quite dry, the liquid polish is put on with a bit of sponge.

302. _To clean White Satin Shoes._--Rub them lengthways of the satin, with a piece of new white flannel dipped in spirits of wine. If slightly soiled, you may clean them by rubbing with stale bread.

White satin shoes should be kept in blue paper closely wrapped, with coarse brown paper outside.

To keep your thin, light slippers in shape, when you put them away, fold them ever lengthways or sideways, and tie the strings round them. You should have a covered box purposely for your shoes.

303. _To clean Boot-tops Brown._--Mix, in the same quantity of water, one ounce of oxalic acid, half an ounce of muriatic acid, a small vial of spirits of lavender, and two tea-spoonfuls of salt of lemon. Each bottle should be carefully labeled and marked "Poison."

304. _Directions for using the Liquid._--For the white tops: to be scrubbed well with a clean hard brush, then sponged well with cold water, all one way; and allowed to dry gradually in the sun, or by the fire.

Brown tops are not to be scrubbed with a brush, but sponged all over with the mixture, till all stains be removed; then sponged well with cold water, and rubbed with flannel till they be highly polished.

305. _Shoes._--When about being measured for shoes, place the foot firmly on the ground, as the foot is larger in a standing than in a sitting posture.

306. _Shoes._--One hint about shoes--a most essential and expensive article of family wear. However worn and full of holes the soles may be, if the upper leathers are whole, or soundly mended, and the stitching firm, the soles may be covered with the newly adopted article gutta percha, and at a very small expense the shoes will be rendered as good as new. We have seen shoes which even the eldest daughter of the Smith family despised as not worth carrying home, made quite sound and respectable in appearance, and to serve many months in constant wear, by being thus soled at the cost of only a few pence. Thin shoes that have been worn only in-doors, and which are laid aside on account of the tops becoming shabby, perhaps worn out, while the sewing is sound, may be made very tidy by covering with woollen cloth, or with a bit of thick knitting, or platted list, stitched on as close as possible to the regular seam.

307. _To prevent Snow-water from penetrating Boots and Shoes._--Take equal quantities of bees'-wax and mutton-suet, and melt them in an earthen pipkin over a slow fire. Lay the mixture, while hot, over the boots and shoes, which ought also to be made warm. Let them stand before the fire a short time, and set them aside till they are cold; then rub them with dry woollen stuff, so that you may not grease the blacking-brushes. If you black the shoes before the mixture be put on, they will afterwards take the blacking much better.

Or, boil together for half an hour, a quart of linseed oil, two ounces of resin, and half an ounce of white vitriol, and incorporate with them a quarter of a pint of spirit of turpentine, and two ounces of well-dried oak sawdust. Lay the mixture on the soles of the boots.

308. _Water-proof Boots._--A pint of boiled linseed oil, half a pound of mutton suet, six ounces of clean bees'-wax, and four ounces of resin, are to be melted and well mixed over a fire. Of this, while warm, but not hot enough to shrink the leather, with a brush lay on plentifully over new boots or shoes, when quite dry and clean. The leather remains pliant. The New England fishermen preserve their boots water-tight by this method, which, it is said, has been in use among them above one hundred years. They can thus stand in water hour after hour without inconvenience.

309. _Water-proof Boots._--I have had three pairs of boots for the last six years (no shoes), and I think I shall not require any more for the next six years to come. The reason is, that I treat them in the following manner: I put a pound of tallow and half a pound of rosin in a pot on the fire; when melted and mixed, I warm the boots and apply the hot stuff with a painter's brush, until neither the sole or the upper-leather will suck in any more. If it is desired that the boots should immediately take a polish, melt an ounce of wax with a tea-spoonful of lamp-black. A day after the boots have been treated with tallow and rosin, rub over them this wax in turpentine, but not before the fire. The exterior will then have a coat of wax alone, and will shine like a mirror. Tallow, or any other grease, becomes rancid, and rots the stitching as well as the leather; but the rosin gives it an antiseptic quality, which preserves the whole. Boots and shoes should be so large as to admit of wearing cork soles.--_Correspondent of Mechanics' Magazine._

310. _To make Cloth or Outer Clothing of any description Water-proof._--Take a quarter of an ounce of _yellow_ or _Castile_ soap, and one gallon of rain water; boil for twenty minutes; skim, and when cold, put in the cloth or garment; let it remain soaking twenty-four hours; take it out, and hang to drain; when half-dry, put it into the following solution:--Alum, half a pound; sugar of lead, quarter of a pound; dissolved in four gallons of rain water. Let the cloth be thoroughly soaked, and then hang to dry. This process entirely destroys the capillary attraction in the fibres and threads of the cloth, and the rain or wet pours off the surface without lodging or penetrating through the cloth. The solution has _no effect_ in _altering_ the texture or appearance of the cloth or article immersed. Great care must be taken as regards the sugar of lead, not to leave it where children or any persons ignorant of its qualities can get access to it, as it is a powerful poison.

311. _To make an Oil-skin Coat or Wrapper._--If a stout coat or wrapper is wanted, let the material be strong unbleached or brown calico. If a light one is preferred, make use of brown holland. Soak it (when made) in hot water, and hang to dry; then boil ten ounces of India-rubber in one quart of _raw linseed oil_, until dissolved; (this will require about three hours' boiling,) when cold, mix with the oil so prepared about half a pint of paint of any color which may be preferred, and of the same consistency as that used for painting wood. With a paint-brush lay a thin coat over the outside of the wrapper, brushing it well into the seams. Hang it to dry in a current of air, but sheltered from a powerful sun. When _thoroughly_ dry, give it another coat; dry as before, and then give a third and last coat. The wrapper, when _well dried_, will be ready for use.

312. _To make Gutta Percha Soles._--The gutta percha possesses properties which render it invaluable for winter shoes. _It is, compared with leather, a slow conductor of heat_; the effect of this is, that the warmth of the feet is retained, however cold the surface may be on which the person stands, and that clammy dampness, so objectionable in the wear of India rubber shoes, is entirely prevented. On first using gutta percha shoes, the wearer is forcibly struck with the superior warmth and comfort which is produced by this non-conducting property; and I confidently predict, that all those who try gutta percha, will be steady consumers.

We shall now give the method of fixing the gutta percha soles. Make the sole of the boot perfectly clean and dry, scratch it with an awl or a fork until it becomes rough, warm it before the fire, and spread over it with a hot iron or poker some of the "solution" sold for this purpose, or in the absence of this, place some of the thin parings of the gutta percha on the sole, holding it to the fire, and spreading it as before. When this has been repeated two or three times, and all is well covered, warm the gutta percha sole, and the sole of the boot at the same time, until both become soft and sticky, place the sole on the boot, and press it down carefully, beginning at the toe, so as to press out the air and make it adhere closely; nothing more remains to be done, than as soon as it becomes hard to pare the edges with a sharp knife, and trim off as may be necessary. All the parings and old pieces should be saved, as gutta percha is not injured by use, and may be sold to the manufacturer in order to be restored and made up again.

313. _Fly Water._--Most of the fly-waters, and other preparations commonly sold for the destruction of flies, are variously disguised poisons, dangerous and even fatal to the human species: such as solutions of mercury, arsenic, &c., mixed with honey or syrup. The following preparation, however, without endangering the lives of children, or other incautious persons, is not less fatal to flies than even a solution of arsenic. Dissolve two drachms of the extract of quassia in half a pint of boiling water; and adding a little sugar or syrup, pour the mixture on plates. To this enticing food the flies are extremely partial, and it never fails to destroy them.

A strong infusion of green tea, sweetened, is as effectual in poisoning flies, as the solution of arsenic generally sold for that purpose.

314. _To destroy Flies._--Ground black pepper and moist sugar, intimately mixed in equal quantities, and diluted with milk, placed in saucers, adding fresh milk, and stirring the mixture as often as necessary, succeeds admirably in occasioning their death.

315. _Another way to destroy Flies._--Pour a little simple oxymel (an article sold by druggists) into a common tumbler glass, and place in the glass a piece of cap paper, made into the shape of the upper part of a funnel, with a hole at the bottom to admit the flies. Attracted by the smell, they readily enter the trap in swarms, and by the thousands soon collected prove that they have not the wit or the disposition to return.

316. _To remove Flies._--Flies and other insects may be kept from attacking meat, by dusting it over with pepper, powdered ginger, or any other spice, or by skewering a piece of paper to it on which a drop of creosote has been poured. The spices may be readily washed off with water before dressing the meat.

317. _To keep off Flies._--Place camphor on or near what you wish to protect from them.

318. _Wasps and Flies._--These insects may be killed immediately by dipping a feather in a little sweet oil, and touching their backs with it. When intent on fruit this can easily be done. Insects of different kinds are readily killed by oil; it closes up the lateral pores by which they breathe.

319. _To destroy Ants and Wasps._--Ants are destroyed by opening the nest and putting in quick-lime, and throwing water on it.

Wasps may be destroyed in the same way; only it will be requisite that the person who does it should be covered with muslin, or something over the face, hands, &c., so that the wasps shall not be able to sting them.

320. _To destroy Ants._--Ants that frequent houses or gardens may be destroyed by taking flour of brimstone, half a pound, and potash, four ounces: set them in an iron or earthen pan over the fire till dissolved and united; afterwards beat them to a powder, and infuse a little of this powder in water; and wherever you sprinkle it the ants will die, or fly the place.

321. _Another Method._--Corrosive sublimate, mixed well with sugar, has proved a mortal poison to them, and is the most effectual way of destroying these insects.

322. _To destroy Cockroaches, &c._--Stir a small quantity of arsenic with some bread-crumbs, which lay near the insects' haunts; meantime, be careful to keep dogs and cats out of the way. Poisoned wafers are also made for killing cockroaches: a trap is made with a glass well, for the same purpose; but a more simple contrivance is to half-fill a glazed basin, or pie-dish, with sweetened beer or linseed oil, and set in places frequented by cockroaches. They will attack the _red_ wax of sealed bottles, but will not touch _black_ wax.

323. _To destroy Crickets._--To destroy crickets at night, set dishes or saucers filled with the grounds of beer or tea, on the kitchen-floor, and, in the morning, the crickets will be found dead from excess of drinking.

324. _To drive away Fleas._--Sprinkle about the bed a few drops of oil of lavender, and the fleas will soon disappear.

Fumigation with brimstone, or fresh leaves of penny-royal sewed in a bag, and laid in the bed, will have the desired effect.

325. _Liquor for destroying Caterpillars, Ants, and other Insects._--Take a pound and three-quarters of soap, the same quantity of flower of sulphur, two pounds of champignons, or puff-balls, and fifteen gallons of water. When the whole has been well mixed, by the aid of a gentle heat, sprinkle the insects with the liquor, and it will instantly kill them.

326. _To destroy Rats._--Cut a number of corks or a piece of sponge as thin as sixpences; stew them in grease, and place them in the way of the rats. They will greedily devour this delicacy, and will die of indigestion.

327. _To kill Rats, another way._--There are two objections to the common mode of killing rats, by laying poison for them; first, the danger to which it exposes other animals and even human beings; second, the possibility that the rats may cause an intolerable stench, by dying in their holes. The following method is free from these objections, and has proved effectual in clearing houses infested with these vermin.

Oil of amber and ox-gall in equal parts, add to them oatmeal or flour sufficient to form a paste, which divide into little balls and lay them in the middle of a room which rats are supposed or known to visit. Surround the balls with a number of vessels filled with water. The smell of the oil will be sure to attract the rats, they will greedily devour the balls, and becoming intolerably thirsty, will drink till they die on the spot.

328. _To expel Rats._--Catch one in a trap; muzzle it, with the assistance of a fellow-servant, and slightly singe some of the hair; then smear the part with turpentine, and set the animal loose; if again caught, leave it still at liberty, as the other rats will shun the place which it inhabits. It is said to be a fact that a toad placed in a cellar will free it from rats.

Rats may be expelled from cellars and granaries simply by scattering a few stalks and leaves of mullen in their paths. There is something very annoying in this plant to the rat. It affords, therefore, a very easy method of getting rid of a most perplexing evil, and much more economical and less troublesome than gunpowder, "rat exterminator," cats, or traps.

329. _To destroy Fleas and other Vermin on Animals._--To destroy them on dogs, rub the animal, when out of the house, with the common Scotch snuff, except the nose and eyes. Rub the powder well into the roots of the hair. Clear lime-water destroys the flea-worm without injuring the skin or hair.

Oil of turpentine, when applied to animals, which were covered with insects, destroyed the insects, without hurting the animal.

330. _To destroy Bugs._--Mix half a pint of spirits of turpentine and half a pint of best rectified spirits of wine, in a strong bottle, and add in small pieces about half an ounce of camphor, which will dissolve in a few minutes. Shake the mixture well together; and, with a sponge or brush dipped in it, well wet the bed and furniture where the vermin breed. This will infallibly destroy both them and their nits, though they swarm. The dust, however, should be well brushed from the bedstead and furniture, to prevent, from such carelessness, any stain. If that precaution is attended to, there will be no danger of soiling the richest silk or damask. On touching a live bug with only the tip of a pin put into the mixture, the insect will be instantly deprived of existence, and should any bugs happen to appear after using the mixture, it will only be from not wetting the linen, &c., of the bed, the foldings and linings of the curtains near the rings or the joints, or holes in and about the bed or head-board, in which places the vermin nestle and breed; so that those parts being well wetted with more of the mixture, which dries as fast as it is used, and pouring it into the joints and holes, where the sponge and brush cannot reach, it will never fail totally to destroy them. The smell of this mixture, though powerful, is extremely wholesome, and to many persons very agreeable. It exhales, however, in two or three days. Only one caution is necessary; but that is important. The mixture must be well shaken when used; _but never applied by candle light_, lest the spirits, being attracted by the flare of the candle, might cause a conflagration.

331. _Kitchen Cloths._--The four kinds of cloths requisite for the kitchen, are knife-cloths, dusters, tea and glass-cloths. Knife-cloths should be made of coarse sheeting. Dusters are generally made of mixed cotton and linen. The best material for tea and glass-cloths, is a sheet which has begun to wear thin.

Besides the above cloths, are knife-tray-cloths, house-cloths for cleaning, pudding and cheese-cloths, and towels.

332. _Clothes' Posts_ soon decay at the bottom, if left standing in the ground; but, if fitted into sockets so as to be removable, they will last for years. The sockets should be made of one-inch elm, eighteen inches in length, tapering downwards. When finished, they ought to be about three inches square inside, at the upper end. They are to be driven firmly into the earth till just level with the surface. The posts are then made to drop in and stand firm, and can be taken out, and put under shelter when not in use. A cover should be fitted to each socket, to keep litter from falling in when the post is removed. A drying-ground should not be too much exposed to the wind, as the violent flapping tears the corners of table-cloths, sheets, &c., and overblown linen feels flabby after mangling.

333. _Out-houses and Cellars._--If these have not been recently cleansed, have them thoroughly cleaned out and white-washed. A dirty cellar is an abomination, and the fruitful source of many diseases. Let all your out-buildings have a thorough overhauling and repairing.

334. _To purify Houses._--An able chemist recommends a mixture of one pound of chloride of lime in ten gallons of water. Throw a quart of this daily down the sink or water-closet. It will not cost five cents a week.

One of the best and most pleasant disinfectants is coffee. Pound well-dried raw coffee-beans in a mortar, and strew the powder over a moderately heated iron plate. The simple traversing of the house with a roaster containing freshly roasted coffee will clear it of offensive smells.